Color change wrap questions

[robl45]

So a place here that appears to be pretty good said 2950 plus tax for color change wrap. I really like the color of unplugged performance blue wrapped model 3 so I was considering it. I just can't get past the feeling that why would I wrap a car with perfectly good paint? And isn't this something that the civics etc do and not cars like this?

Aside from my probably irrational fears, I understand from reading that it isn't permanent? How long does it typically last? Does it come off with our damage? If my car is already chrome deleted, can they still wrap the rest out do they have to do the chrome delete again? How easily does it get damaged? I have ppf on the front now and the front has winkles, bubbles, 2 or 3 rips etc.

Finally if I did do it, is that a good price in South Florida or can anyone recommend Place?

 

[Rothgarr]

That price seems too good to be true. I've gotten quotes for twice that price up here in CT.

 

[robl45]

Supposed to be real good place. Anyone with any answers for me?

 

[reif.erik]

Pricing is on the cheaper side. Would say you’re going to get what you pay for. Would ask the brand and what sort of warranty they offer. Mine is black but wrapped in matte gray. I love it. Yes you’re covering perfectly good paint but you still have that when you take the wrap off in 3-5 years.

 

[jjrandorin]

Not permanent (and a good shop wont leave permanent damage, while a cheaper / less experienced one can leave permanent cuts etc)
Depending on skill of installer, 3-6 years? Kind of like window tint.
They can wrap whatever you tell them to... depends on skill of installer
Depends on the product they use (how easy it gets damaged)
On the PPF, how did you shop for that? These films / wraps etc depend on the skill of the installer, and the product used.... in that order.

That price seems extremely "aggressively low" for a full wrap, but I am not in south florida. If you have "rips and tears" in your PPF job already, I suggest you shop for this wrap in a different manner (either plan to spend more money on the wrap job, or choose a better shop than you did last time).

A full body wrap is totally something you would want to find the best installer you can, and if the price is higher, save money. Its NOT something you should be trying to "save money on", at least in my opinion... because if they dont do it correctly, it will at best have not crisp edges and at worst have cuts on your car where they cut the film.

 

[robl45]

The ppf was on the car when I got it at 6.5 months old . This is place below I contacted. They seem knowledgeable and get good reviews. They said 10 year manufacturer warranty on wrap and 1 year on install. The 1 year sounds low. So wrap will only n last 3 to 5 years?

What happens if someone dings car or something? Can try just replace section? Does insurance typically cover this if insurance were repairing a section?

Home

 

[Rothgarr]

Insurance wont cover any damage to wraps (or any accessories for that matter), unless you specifically request and pay for the additional coverage on those items.

 

[ReggaeDragon]

So a place here that appears to be pretty good said 2950 plus tax for color change wrap. I really like the color of unplugged performance blue wrapped model 3 so I was considering it. I just can't get past the feeling that why would I wrap a car with perfectly good paint? And isn't this something that the civics etc do and not cars like this?

Aside from my probably irrational fears, I understand from reading that it isn't permanent? How long does it typically last? Does it come off with our damage? If my car is already chrome deleted, can they still wrap the rest out do they have to do the chrome delete again? How easily does it get damaged? I have ppf on the front now and the front has winkles, bubbles, 2 or 3 rips etc.

Finally if I did do it, is that a good price in South Florida or can anyone recommend Place?

Did you ever get it done? I am also from South Florida and been thinking about getting my Model Y wrapped. I got a quote for $3500 from "My Tesla Miami"/ "First Class Autosports". They also said that it can also range from $2800 - $3000 if I chose a less specialty vinyl wrap. I really liked all the work they have done and they were super helpful. I also like the fact that they have a Tesla section and the owner has a Model 3 and Model Y that he shows off all the time. I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I think I am going to. Would love to hear if you ended up doing it. Thanks.

 

[robl45]

Might want to checkout these guys as well Home

At any rate I did not as I am currently out of work. However, after reading the past couple of days, I think if I do it, I would do it myself. I'm not handy with things like this that require art skills, but It honestly doesn't look like rocket sci-entry. Its about 600 for the wrap depending on the choice. So its basically 2400 to have someone wrap the vehicle. Just watching the videos the stuff is really forgiving and aside from the back and front bumpers does not seem overly complicated. I was actually thinking when I have a job again of finding 1 or 2 people that would like to DIY and then we can each help each other with the cars as it appears to really require a couple of people.

I just honestly can't get my head around 3000 plus dollars for 5 years or so. Plus if it does get damaged. Thats another 500 or whatever they would charge to replace the piece.

Did you ever get it done? I am also from South Florida and been thinking about getting my Model Y wrapped. I got a quote for $3500 from "My Tesla Miami"/ "First Class Autosports". They also said that it can also range from $2800 - $3000 if I chose a less specialty vinyl wrap. I really liked all the work they have done and they were super helpful. I also like the fact that they have a Tesla section and the owner has a Model 3 and Model Y that he shows off all the time. I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I think I am going to. Would love to hear if you ended up doing it. Thanks.

 

[Luudcrs]

The ppf was on the car when I got it at 6.5 months old . This is place below I contacted. They seem knowledgeable and get good reviews. They said 10 year manufacturer warranty on wrap and 1 year on install. The 1 year sounds low. So wrap will only n last 3 to 5 years?

What happens if someone dings car or something? Can try just replace section? Does insurance typically cover this if insurance were repairing a section?

Home

That's a pretty good quote you got, definitely on the lower end so vet them well. Biggest difference between quotes is whether the shop removes entire bumpers/panels to wrap the edges better. That's more labor so more cost. Plus, when time to remove wrap, the bumpers/panels need to be removed as well to get all the edges off. I opted for non-removal method and most edges look pretty good. No one's going to notice unless they're at point blank and specifically looking for it.

How long it lasts depends on how you care for it and how much sun exposure it gets. My installer told me 3-7 years, but the longer it stays on the harder it'll be to remove.

Insurance...I got rear ended and had to replace entire rear bumper. At-fault carrier covered my re-wrap for the bumper as well, but it was about a year old already so the color does not match 100% (I'd say 97%). And with pandemic, it hasn't been driven as much so less exposure to sun. With more sun exposure it should blend in better with rest of car.

Lastly, I'd recommend watching lots of YouTube install videos if you're going the DIY route. It may look easy, but it's labor intensive, requires proper techniques, lots of patience, etc.

 

[robl45]

I don't think I would remove bumper. Side cameras probably. How do they tuck if they don't remove the bumpers?

 

[Zorak03]

I wrapped my Tesla using a 3M 2080 series but I won’t do it again. The reason is it’s too fragile, every little thing seems to damage it. A couple months ago my son rubbed muddy water on it with his hands—not abrasive sand, just dirty water, and the area is still visible. Also. A couple weeks ago some grass clipping blew on the rear bumper from mowing the lawn. I washed the car a couple days later but you can still see the spots where the grass clippings were. I’ve tried to clean it with chemical guys wrap cleaner but the imperfections won’t come off.

My advice is to just ceramic coat the paint, and if you’re going to keep the car for a long time, consider ppf.

 

[robl45]

Have ppf now. Not overwhelmed but job wasn't great. Is there better film?

 

[New_Old_Stock]

I previously had a BMW wrapped with 3M (solid color) and I currently have the 3 wrapped with Avery (color shifting). The 3M held up great with minimal maintenance and lots of hard driving over the 3 years I had the car. The Avery film is only a couple months old so I can't really comment but seems to be holding up well so far.

I would expect to get 4-6 years from a quality wrap, depending on how often your car is parked in the sun and how strong the sun is where you live.

I had both vehicles wrapped in countries other than the US and I paid a lot less than your quoted price both times, so I'm shocked when people posting here are saying that's cheap.

 

[Luudcrs]

I had both vehicles wrapped in countries other than the US and I paid a lot less than your quoted price both times, so I'm shocked when people posting here are saying that's cheap.

Yes, quotes will be very dependent on region. Again, it is very labor-intensive. Materials are only around $500 per vehicle. Everything else is labor to prep and wrap.

 

[Massive Attack]

I've have multiple quotes in central Ohio of $3800-$6500. The low end have been less experienced shops. The high end were from 2 shops with lots of experience, and they include paint prep. I was told they would buff out any deeps scratches and fill in any chips.

I was quoted 3-5 years of life, depending upon parking scenario, and wash/care. If you park in a garage at home and work, and don't use traditional car washes, you can get to that 5th year. If you park in the sun at home, under a sap-dripping tree at work, and use the gas station cheapo car wash, expect 3 years or less.

You can get panels replaced, if you get damage, but not one of my 4 quotes offered a warranty for damage replacement.

One other thing also you should ask about is, do they take off and keep your emblems and badging (T logo, Dual Motor). I know the high end shops take these off, and will replace them, if they can get them. But if you have some carbon-fiber replacements, you better buy some more, cause you'll get stock chrome replacements (assuming you don't want the shaved look).

 

[robl45]

Yup honestly I'm sure it wouldn't be perfect but I can't imagine spending even 3k for potential 3 years of life. I would like to do it myself though knowing I can do some outrageous color and just take it off more or less if I don't like it or when I sell it. For 600 bucks im in.

 

[acarney]

That price seems low. I haven't shopped just for wraps, so maybe they're much cheaper, but a full coverage Xpel Matte PPF (which will matte out the color of the car) is routinely $6k or higher quotes in Washington state (not Seattle area). My PPF (front bumper/hood/fenders/rocker panels and mirrors) and tint on the side windows and windshield came out to almost $3,000. I haven't been able to find a single place within 500 miles of me that will do full PPF on the car for under $5k....

That said, my PPF is almost flawless. I have a couple very small bubbles (sub 1mm) down near the bottom edges of the car that my installer would take care of if I cared enough to take the car back... other than that it's perfectly smoothed and tucked around all the edges. You can't tell it's installed at all.

 

[acarney]

Yup honestly I'm sure it wouldn't be perfect but I can't imagine spending even 3k for potential 3 years of life. I would like to do it myself though knowing I can do some outrageous color and just take it off more or less if I don't like it or when I sell it. For 600 bucks im in.

If it's anything like ppf, prepare to waste $600. Maybe the wrap is easy to handle and stretch, but watching PPF go on, you have like a 6 foot by 4 foot sheet that you need to position on the car without touching any dirty surface or the ground. Then you need to keep it on the car but work it and stretch it again the sides. The real well done ones are hand cut, but don't cut too deep because you'll cut into the clear coat. Pre-cut kits... well they don't look great, and in fact I'm not even sure they make pre-cut kits for wraps because having a seam would look horrible...

 

[robl45]

If it's anything like ppf, prepare to waste $600. Maybe the wrap is easy to handle and stretch, but watching PPF go on, you have like a 6 foot by 4 foot sheet that you need to position on the car without touching any dirty surface or the ground. Then you need to keep it on the car but work it and stretch it again the sides. The real well done ones are hand cut, but don't cut too deep because you'll cut into the clear coat. Pre-cut kits... well they don't look great, and in fact I'm not even sure they make pre-cut kits for wraps because having a seam would look horrible...

I thought the same too and with PPF thats probably more of a concern because its clear and you have to be careful to get a perfect finish, I think the Wrap is a little more forgiving with that, plus watching the videos it doesn't look that hard and I'm no artist. i've also read I think even on here of normal people doing this and having it come out decently.